A snowboard provides a method of skiing on snow by means of a single ski. The skier attaches both feet to separate bindings on a single snowboard and glides downhill without using ski poles. A snowboard user is able to use gravity to glide down slopes, but, because he has both feet attached to the snowboard, he has no means of forward propulsion when stationary and on level or upwardly sloping ground. Therefore, in the absence of momentum, a snowboard user on level or upwardly sloping ground must remove a foot from the snowboard binding and use it against the ground to push off in order to glide forward. The push and glide sequence is repeated to continue forward movement. The rearward foot is used to push off, which may be the left or the right foot, depending upon the user's preference.
Pushing off on a rearward foot is effective as a means for propulsion but ineffective as a means for controlling the direction of motion and maintaining balance. When both feet are attached to the bindings, the snowboard is normally steered by shifting weight, or leaning, into the direction of the desired turn. This means of steering is significantly less effective when the rearward foot is outside the binding and merely sitting on the snowboard, than with both feet securely attached to the snowboard by bindings. When the rearward foot is not in the binding, the foot slides about on the slippery snowboard surface, making it difficult to put weight on the rearward foot and to use it for balance or steering.
To provide the rearward foot with a modicum of control when it is not in the binding, snowboard users typically affix a non-slip surface to their snowboards for the purpose of resting their rearward foot thereupon. One such non-slip surface is a product sold under the trademark GRIP-TAPE, which is an adhesive-backed tape that has a non-slip surface. The tape is adhered to the top surface of the snowboard such that the non-slip surface is exposed and provides friction to keep the user's rear foot from easily sliding about. Other conventional products for the same or similar purpose are sold under the trademarks TRACK-TOP, ASTRO DECK, and GORILLA GRIP, which are self-adhering pads of closed cell foam that may be affixed to the surface of the snowboard to provide a non-slip platform for the rear foot. However, none of these products for laying down a non-slip surface provide the rear foot with any significant steering control of the snowboard, but instead merely provide the snowboard user with a friction surface so that he may place weight on his rearward foot to maintain balance.
Another reason the rearward foot is removed from its binding is to comply with rules at many ski areas prohibiting snowboard users from mounting a ski lift with both feet in the bindings. Ski areas enacted the rule because skiers must maneuver into position in order to mount the ski lift and snowboard skiers with both feet in the bindings cannot maneuver about adequately. Thus, the snowboarder must ride the lift supporting the entire weight of the snowboard with only one foot in a binding.